u/feevart

No watering needed. It's just dramatic because it wanted a professional makeover!

I got this in my tiny local grocery store and couldn't believe my eyes - they had a night owl AND what I believe to be a black dragon in there. For 9.99. Any way rant over - could anyone please confirm if it actually is a black dragon?

The banding isn't very strong like a trifasciata - it's only on 2 or 3 leaves - and the color is dark emerald green

Ok, I am doing it. I am not working today and it's mornig - so why not. So here is the soil guide:

First of all:

A beginner needs to know that sellers are kinda awful. Nothing of what the garden center writes on the little card is true.

You buy a Monstera?  The Seller tells you to put in it indirect light - lies.

The Seller tells you to water your new Orchid with 3 ice-cubes? Lies, this will kill your plant. The Seller tells you to water once a week? Lies. This will also kill your plant. At this point I suspect that they are doing it on purpose, so you have to always buy new plants. This sh\*t has caused many beginners to give up on the hobby, because they did everything "right" according to the seller. So don't trust them. Be suspicious.

‼️ Always, ALWAYS get the Latin name of your plant and then research it for 10 minutes. That will tell you everything you need. Find out HOW the plant grows in Nature - which environment? And then simulate that at home.

‼️‼️ And ALWAYS pot into a pot with a drainage hole ‼️‼️ If you want pretty and aesthetic get yourself a decorative planter but don't let the water sit in there for more then an hour! You can use plastic pots for damp loving plants and terracotta pots for dry loving plants. And buy the trays too!

Now for the real deal, the repot:

As I already said: Sellers hate you, but love your money. And that's why they sell you the plant in AWFUL SOIL. And that's where all the problems start. A beginner thinks "oh this plant must need pure potting soil, because I bought it that way". And then it dies, again. Why? Because it's cheaper that way. And sometimes they pot the plant with the stupid "plant prison" aka. death plugs which are those tiny plastic net- pots they use for seedlings. It's a plastic dungeon for the roots and sometimes hidden in the soil and will kill your plant if you don't remove it. I tell you: the Seller does ANYTHING to make you kill your plant. This is no joke.

So what to do about this mess?

#1 : Quarantine: As soon as your bring your new plant home, put it into quarantine in a seperate room or in a big transparent plastic box and air that out every 2 days.

(just take the lid off and fan air in with in for a couple seconds.)

Why? Because the plants could have pests and infest your other plants. I talked to person yesterday who bought a thrips infested money tree and then watched it get worse and thought it's their fault. This can happen. So inspect them in the store, before you buy them. You could additionally do a pest prevention soap dunk (diluted castile soap or neem or both in lukewarm water). Then leave the plant in quarantine for 2 weeks and then we repot.

#2: repotting:

Because most mediums are so awful, you have to remove the whole soil in most cases.

So prepare everything beforehand and then take the plant out of the pot. It should be on the dryer side when you do this, then it's easier. So don't water the day before. Also this will make a mess, so get a tarp or something. So we take her out and then we carefully and gently remove the soil with our fingers and untangle the roots a bit. Then you'll see if there's the dreaded plant prison aka. plastic nursery net-pot. It's black and about the size of a shot-glass. See picture. Cut that off carefully and free the plant from its torture dungeon. Then take a chopstick and gently poke it into the middle of the rootsystem and carefully wiggle it a bit. This should loosen the soil inside. Then you untangle more and loosen more. Butterflies touch is the keyword here. And then we take a container of lukewarm water and rinse the whole rootsystem with it. This should remove 70% - 95% of the soil. It doesn't have to be perfect, unless you plan to go semi-hydro with the plant. 55 - 70% is fine for a soil-mix repot.

Then put some mix at the bottom of the pot and gently set the rootsystem in and slowly cover it with the mix and then wiggle the pot. Water it in a bit and voilà- your done.

Exception:Succulents, Snake plants and Aloes should be completely dry when you repot and should stay dry after the repot. So don't water them in.

You will notice, that the plants will sit very loosely and unstable in the pot. This is temporary. After 2 weeks she'll be stable. So don't panic.

#3: the nitty gritty: Soil

The right medium for a plant is crucial to it's longterm survival and healthy growth and thriving plants - which you want of course!

💃 CHUNKY SOIL MIX 💃

So we have two options: we buy a ready made mix specially designed for your species OR we mix ourselves. If you just have 3 plants buy a mix. If you really wanna get into the hobby and wanna have 59.000 plants: we mix ourselves.

If you have any Succulents:  We buy cactus mix. If you have anything from the Araceae family, then we buy that mix. But really you can buy a basic mix with perlite and bark in it, that should get you going for the first year.

What is the Araceae family:

Most common houseplants really. Monstera, Philodendrons, Pothos, Scindapsus,  Alocasia,  Agloenema, Syngonium, Peace lily Anthurium - all Airoids.

So here are the most basic ingredients that are totally enough for a beginner to make your Airoids thrive:

1. PEATFREE Soil.

2. Perlite

3. Orchid bark (has starter nutrients)

4. Pumice (sometimes sold as just "substrate"

That's it. It's not complicated and the best thing is: if you have Orchids too, you already have the bark it needs.

So now the basic recipe. But really you don't need to be exact here.

1 part Orchid bark

1 part Pumice

0.5 to 1 part Soil or coco peat

1 part Perlite (careful: don't breathe in the dust! Make it wet first.)

Basic, simple.

Now for Succulents:

Succulents need more grit. Same ingredients are fine, but we add more pumice. Some people have their Succulents in just Pumice which is aesthetic af by the way.

Now. We can venture in the hyper- fancy- schmacy pro mixes:

What you can mix in additionally:

Lava stones, horticultural charcoal, worm castings, compost, Spaghnum moss, Vermiculite or Zeolite. The all have different qualities, so look it up first - just takes a couple minutes.

Just know - this is really NOT necessary and sometimes people go a bit overboard. Don't get me wrong, it's an absolutely valid mix, but for a beginner it's too much. So don't do that for now, just know it exists.

So which chunk level?:

-1.No chunk (forget that)

1. Minimum chunk

2. Medium chunk

3. Chunky

4. Super hyper chunk

See pictures please

I am sure some people won't agree 100% with that, but as I said - we wanna stay basic here. So please don't come for me and rip me to shreds. This info is already overwhelming enough for a newbie. And also everyone has their own recipe.

So for specific plants we have to adjust the mix a little bit:

A Tilsandia: doesn't need soil at all:

For a venus fly trap (not a beginner plant btw - we want sphagnum moss and perlite. )

For a Peace lily, a Ficus, a Spider Plant, a Philodendron, Begonias Basil, Parsley - really any plant that prefers to stay damp we go for minimum to medium chunk.

Pothos, Philodendron, Scindapsus, Croton, Syngonium, Bird of Paradise, Agloenema and Dieffenbachia - most Airoids etc. we want medium to chunky - more on the chunky side.

For a Monstera, sone Scindapsus, Alocasia want chunky.

For hoyas chunky to super chunk

For an Orchid we want super chunk - which in this case is just bark.

If you are a chronic overwatering person we can go the super chunk route. Then you'll have to water it more often. Some people really enjoy watering their plants. So if you wanna water it every couple days we go for super chunk. But please, don't drown them. I for example have my Ficus in super chunk, because he's my baby and I enjoy watering him. But just know, when you go on holiday this will be an issue - so plan accordingly.

For a chronic underwatering person we go for medium chunk and even mix in some Vermiculite.

Exception: Succulents, Snake plants, Aloes need grit, more pumice: chunky to super chunk. The wanna dry out fast.

So WHY do we do all this? WHY is the necessary at all? Basic explanation is as following:

To prevent root rot. Simple. Pure soil has little airpockets which will get completely filled when you water it. Pure soil stays wet for a long time. The rootsystem also needs Oxygen - crucial - and when the little airpockets are filled with water for too long it will literally drown and suffocate your plant, then it'll get root rot and it'll die slowly, slowly. Root rot can be fungal or bacteria or both (I think). It'll kill off the rootsystem completely if you don't act quickly.

Root rot

You have a wilted plant that doesn't get better with watering? Root rot (can be heat exposure or frost exposure aswell - then your plant is a goner.) You have a plant still in awful soil and it's not doing well? Root rot.

You have a plant with yellowing leaves? Could be root rot. You have a plant that looks unhealthy and gets worse? Root rot or pests.

How to identify root rot?

First we sniff the soil! Does it smell stinky and rotten? Root rot. You can see dark roots coming out of the drainage hole? Root rot. Or you just have a suspicion maybe and can't really tell?

What to do now?

1. First we go to a chemist and buy pure 3% hydrogen peroxide. Can I use hair bleach aswell? NO. Prepare the solution we need later beforehand: we dilute 1 part hydrogen peroxide in 3 - 4 part lukewarm water.

2. Then we take the whole plant out of the pot and inspect the roots. We sniff again. We look for dark brown or black, mushy roots, that are stinky and come off when you slightly pull on them (see pictures)

3. Remove the soil- as I already explained above. In case of root rot try to remove at least 95% percent of the soil.

4. We have to cut off the dead roots now with  sterilized (ruppig alcohol / Isopropanol) Scissors. We cut everything off except the white/ beige roots (snake plants f.e. have more beige roots). And when we cut, we cut about 2mm  (0.08 inches) into the white so it can't spread

5. We rinse the whole rootsystem for 2- 3 minutes in said hydrogen peroxide solution. Why? As i said the rot is fungal and we have to kill it or it'll spread.

6. We repot in fresh, healthy soil- mix

7. We are patient and let the plant recover. No nutrients for now. This should take 1 - 3 months. It depends. So don't expect any new growth anytime soon. Think of it like this. If you have a surgery in hospital it takes you a while to heal and recover. We basically did a surgery with her.

8. We don't panic if the plants gets worse in the next week or two, and gets yellow leaves or sheds them. We don't cut the yellow leaves now. No additional stress for her. We leave it alone.

9. We trash the old soil or bake it for 4 - 6 hours in the oven. You can also do a soil flush with said hydrogen peroxide solution that you have already prepared anyway and then bake it.

Pro tip: if you REALLY wanna baby her: get yourself a heat-mat for plants and a growlight and give her the spa treatment. For high humidity plants you can even put her in a box or a mini greenhouse. Humidity about 60 - 70% in that case water less, but be careful that the heat pad doesn't dry her out. Check and monitor.

Now for watering:

I strongly recommend my watering guide for beginners which you'll find here: https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/s/Dtmb4834p6

For the real freaks like me and people who don't do well with Spider plants or Philodendrons or Alocasia or anything really or travel a lot we will discuss

Semi-hydro:

What is Semi-hydro? It's a plant in mineral substrate like pon or pumice where there's a water reservoir. Please don't ask me about Lecha. It hate it, it's fugly imo, it's too complicated for beginners and you have to prep it, cook it out and do all the fuzz. Don't come for me, I will never use it. Go to the Lecha Queen for that.

There's two different types of pots: the wick system or the cache- pot system. The wick system is when the plastic pot is raised and we use a wick for the plant to soak it up (see picture). Please either use a Polyester wick or better: cut a washed micro-fiber cleaning towel and cut that into 4cm stripes. The cache pot system is when the pot just stands in the pot.

So what are the benefits?

You go on holiday a lot? Semi-hydro.

Your spider- plant hates you and you hate it? Semi-hydro. Your Philodendron hates you? Semi-hydro. Your Alocasia or Anthurium hates you? You guessed it. You battle fungus gnats? Semi-hydro. You want a strong, healthy beast of a plant- a true queen 👸?  Semi-hydro.

What are the disadvantages?

You need a specific fertilizer for hydroponics. That's it. If I make a fertilizer guide aswell I will discuss it there.

So we can really put most plants in semi-hydro. Even Succulents! And the Airoids and the Ficus, your Basil... the list goes on.

Now how:

1. We buy pure pumice or Lechuza pon (not available right now in the US - go for pumice or Zeolite or Lava rock or a mix of them instead. This is basically what Lechuza pon is - so you can mix it yourself.) We don't use perlite for this btw. We also buy a specific hydroponic fertilizer nothing else will work. ("Hydroponic Houseplant Focus" or the dutch Brand Hesi has good ones, or go look in the devil's cabbage community- there are some experts there. Weed people are experts anyway and I am NOT gonna tell you why I know that 😉. I don't know any American brands unfortunately,  since I am European)

2. We buy either a fancy schmacy self-watering pot for looks (also available from Lechuza and other brands) or we do a nice and quick DIY and get a wood burner or a soldering iron and burn a lot of small holes into a standard plastic nursery pot. Or we can drill it with a wood bit. You could also use an Orchid pot if ya wanna go cheap and are not willing to craft.

3. We have to rinse out the pon/ pumice 4- 5 times as it's dusty. You won't get rid off all dust and you water will get murky from it in the beginning months. That's normal and not harmfull, but it's not super pretty. We prepare and do everything I mentioned about cleaning the root system,  but we don't use the hydrogen peroxide and aim for 90 - 99% this time. We can't have any organic medium in there - it would cause problems. So make it as clean as possible.

4. Then we simply repot. Some pon will fall out, so don't make the holes too big. We put some pon in the pot first, set the plant in and CAREFULLY and slowly and a little bit at the time we poor the substrate in. Don't be wild with it. The stones are sharp and you could cause damage here.

5. We set that plant into a decorative cache pot without a drainage hole or in the wick-system pot fill it with a nutrient solution and make sure that the water level isn't too high. Like I don't know 4 - 6 cm (is that 2 inches?) And also for the wick- sytsem the water level has to be under the pot.

6. We have to feed it from now on. There's no nutrients in the minerals except if you use Lechuza pon, that has starter nutrients in it and don't feed that for like 4 weeks or so. So from now on we have to feed every time. As I said above we need hydroponic fertilizer. As I said nothing else will work,  since the hydroponics need ALL the micronutrients in there. There's literally nothing in the substrate. So don't starve them. And we make sure from now on, that the water/solution never runs out. From now on the plant will wick up its water and can basically never get over or underwatered anymore. From time to time we have to flush it out with just water and then set it back into the nutrients.

7. We enjoy that we now got rid of fungus gnats forever and we can go on holiday without worrying and have to water less. And we watch them thrive 🥰

Ok folks. We should be done here. This should be everything you need. I've tried to include pictures of everything. If I forgot anything (which is likely) I will edit of course. Someone aske me to also write a nutrient guide for Beginners aswell. So maybe I'll do that too, but know that nutrients are a bit more complex.

If you have questions I'll try to be available in the comments. Good Luck and good growing my planty Friends! 🌿🤞🍀

Behold the common houseplant pest! It is found in many homes, but can go unnoticed for a while. Treat with milk and neem!

So I had a total beginner yesterday who asked me how to tell if a plant needs watering. This is the most struggling for beginners and causes over- or underwatering ALL THE TIME. I thought- since this is such a common issue for people, I will post this here. So here goes:

So, there's basically two different types, plants that wanna dry out completely (like a succulent) and then plants, that wanna be damp - of course there's exceptions to the rule (like a venus fly trap for example) , but let's stay basic. So you have to know which type it is - that's why knowing the plant name is so important to us. So find out the Latin name of your plant and find out which type it is.

And please forget all the ice-cubes bullshit and "water once a week" bs that sellers tell you - it will kill your plant. Watering schedules are never a good idea. And sellers don't care if you kill your plants, because that means more money. Sellers sell you plants im awful soil with no perlite and nothing. So after a good 2 or 3 weeks I always recommend to repot into a better medium.

So you have a couple options:

1.method: the beginner friendly chopstick method: you get a wooden chopstick or a wooden rod and stick it all the way down to the bottom of the pot. And then you'll have to know which plant type you have. For a succulent the stick has to come out completely dry and no soil sticks to it. For a Monstera or a photos for example you want the bottom 2 - 3 inches to be damp and soil sticking to it, that's when you water. This is the easiest beginner method.

2nd method: the finger test. You just lift the pot and stick your finger in the drainage hole. For plants that want droughts you water when your fingers can't detect moisture. For Monsteras and such you water when there's some slight dampness. This is only possible with small plants of course. Like I wouldn't recommend doing that with a 2m Ficus. For big mamas, the wooden rod or the squish-test are best.

3d method: from now on there's gonna be a bit of a learning curve, so be warned. It's going by weight. You have to get a feel for that, it takes like a month or two. But basically you remember the weight of the pot when it's just been waterered vs. the weight when it's dry. This is more an advanced method, because you have to know your plants a little bit more.

4th Method: The squish- test. This is my favorite method but also the most advanced one. The phenomenon is called Turgor. So when plants are fully hydrated, their leaves become much more stiff, firm and in some cases upright. When a plant is on the thirsty side, the leaves will be less firm and more squishable. The most drastic examples are succulents. When a succulent is freshly hydrated their leafs will be rockhard and non squishable. But when they are thirsty they actually become softer, more bendable and more squishable. So for succulent you actually squish the leaf between your fingers and see how flexible it is. For a photos or a Dieffenbachia  or Monstera you don't really squish- it's more like touching it for firmness and pressing the finger down on it to feel the resistance. So you just remember how firm the freshly hydrated leafs feel (after like 5 hours of watering) vs how they feel when the chopstick comes out more dry. This method is more for the pros, because it requires a lot of knowledge and experience with plants.

5. I also use a hydrometer sometimes for specific plants, but very rarely. The squishable test is the best for me. Also it's very hard and unreliable if you have a extremely chunky mix for Aeroids.

But those are all the best methods. They really can't fail, especially when you combine them. 3 and 4 are my favorite, but the first is the most beginner friendly. With more experience down the line you can explore the other methods. I even combine them. I always touch the leaves first and if I am unsure I lift the pot. If you wanna be extra sure, do 2, 3 and 4 together.

So how to water your plant now? When it needs watering you really drench the soil. I mean really drench it until the water flows! out of the pot, that's how to do it.

For summer temperatures or Succulents/ snake plants I recommend letting the water flow out into the tray and then poor is back in and let it flow out again and then let the rest get wicked up by the plant. After an hour remove the tray water.

There's bottom watering aswell, where the plant wicks the water up.

And there's both: watering from top and bottom.

Just make sure that the soil is fully drenched.

Now soil: pure potting soil is horrible for most tropical houseplants like Airoids and Succulents. Eventually you'll venture into the "chunky soil-mixes". But I recommend each beginner to at least mix perlite into the soil.

So here you go. These methods will help you on your plant journey. And always make sure your pot has a ‼️ drainage hole‼️

So I had a total beginner yesterday who asked me how to tell if a plant needs watering. This is the most struggling for beginners and causes over- or underwatering ALL THE TIME. I thought- since this is such a common issue for people, I will post this here. So here goes:

So, there's basically two different types, plants that wanna dry out completely (like a succulent) and then plants, that wanna be damp - of course there's exceptions to the rule (like a venus fly trap for example) , but let's stay basic. So you have to know which type it is - that's why knowing the plant name is so important to us. So find out the Latin name and which type it is.

Then you have a couple options:

1.method: the beginner friendly chopstick method: you get a wooden chopstick or a wooden rod and stick it all the way down to the bottom of the pot. And then you'll have to know which plant type you have. For a succulent the stick has to come out completely dry and no soil sticks to it. For a Monstera or a pothos for example you want the bottom 2 - 3 inches to be damp and soil sticking to it, that's when you water. This is the easiest beginner method.

2nd method: the finger test. You just lift the pot and stick your finger in the drainage hole. For plants that want droughts you water when your fingers can't detect moisture. For Monsteras and such you water when there's some slight dampness. This is only possible with small plants of course. Like I wouldn't recommend doing that with a 2m Ficus. For big mamas, the wooden rod or the squish-test are best.

3d method: from now on there's gonna be a bit of a learning curve, so be warned. It's going by weight. You have to get a feel for that, it takes like a month or two. But basically you remember the weight of the pot when it's just been waterered vs. the weight when it's dry. This is more an advanced method, because you have to know your plants a little bit more.

4th Method: The squish- test. This is my favorite method but also the most advanced one. The phenomenon is called Turgor. So when plants are fully hydrated, their leaves become much more stiff, firm and in some cases upright. When a plant is on the thirsty side, the leaves will be less firm and more squishable. The most drastic examples are succulents. When a succulent is freshly hydrated their leafs will be rockhard and non squishable. But when they are thirsty they actually become softer, more bendable and more squishable. So for succulent you actually squish the leaf between your fingers and see how flexible it is. For a pothos or a Dieffenbachia  or Monstera you don't really squish- it's more like touching it for firmness and pressing the finger down on it to feel the resistance. So you just remember how firm the freshly hydrated leafs feel (after like 5 hours of watering) vs how they feel when the chopstick comes out more dry. This method is more for the pros, because it requires a lot of knowledge and experience with plants.

5th method. I also use a hydrometer sometimes for specific plants, but very rarely. The squishable test is the best for me. Also it's very hard- even impossible if you have a extremely chunky mix for Aeroids.

But those are all the best methods. They really can't fail, especially when you combine them. 3 and 4 are my favorite, but the first is the most beginner friendly. With more experience down the line you can explore the other methods. I even combine them. I always touch the leaves first and if I am unsure I lift the pot. If you wanna be extra sure, do 2, 3 and 4 together.

So how to water your plant now? When it needs watering you really drench the soil. I mean really drench it until the water flows! out of the pot, that's how to do it.

For summer temperatures or Succulents/ snake plants I recommend letting the water flow out into the tray and then poor is back in and let it flow out again and then let the rest get wicked up by the plant. After an hour remove the tray water.

There's bottom watering aswell, where the plant wicks the water up.

And there's both: watering from top and bottom.

Just make sure that the soil is fully drenched.

Now soil: pure potting soil is horrible for most tropical houseplants like Airoids and Succulents. Eventually you'll venture into the "chunky soil-mixes". But I recommend each beginner to at least mix perlite into the soil. So here you go. These methods will help you on your plant journey. And always make sure your pot has a ‼️ drainage hole‼️

So I had a total beginner yesterday who asked me how to tell if a plant needs watering. This is the most struggling for beginners and causes over- or underwatering ALL THE TIME. I thought- since this is such a common issue for people, I will post this here. So here goes:

So, there's basically two different types, plants that wanna dry out completely (like a succulent) and then plants, that wanna be damp - of course there's exceptions to the rule (like a venus fly trap for example) , but let's stay basic. So you have to know which type it is - that's why knowing the plant name is so important to us. So find out the Latin name of your plant and find out which type it is.

And please forget all the ice-cubes bullshit and "water once a week" bs that sellers tell you - it will kill your plant. Watering schedules are never a good idea. And sellers don't care if you kill your plants, because that means more money. Sellers sell you plants in awful soil with no perlite and nothing. So after a good 2 or 3 weeks I always recommend to repot into a better medium. (Keyword Chunky soil-mix)

So you have a couple options:

1.method: the beginner friendly chopstick method: you get a wooden chopstick or a wooden rod and stick it all the way down to the bottom of the pot. And then you'll have to know which plant type you have. For a succulent the stick has to come out completely dry and no soil sticks to it. For a Monstera or a pothos for example you want the bottom 2 - 3 inches to be damp and soil sticking to it, that's when you water. This is the easiest beginner method.

2nd method: the finger test. You just lift the pot and stick your finger in the drainage hole. For plants that want droughts you water when your fingers can't detect moisture. For Monsteras and such you water when there's some slight dampness. This is only possible with small plants of course. Like I wouldn't recommend doing that with a 2m Ficus. For big mamas, the wooden rod or the squish-test are best.

3d method: from now on there's gonna be a bit of a learning curve, so be warned. It's going by weight. You have to get a feel for that, it takes like a month or two. But basically you remember the weight of the pot when it's just been waterered vs. the weight when it's dry. This is more an advanced method, because you have to know your plants a little bit more.

4th Method: The squish- test. This is my favorite method but also the most advanced one. The phenomenon is called Turgor. So when plants are fully hydrated, their leaves become much more stiff, firm and in some cases upright. When a plant is on the thirsty side, the leaves will be less firm and more squishable. The most drastic examples are succulents. When a succulent is freshly hydrated their leafs will be rockhard and non squishable. But when they are thirsty they actually become softer, more bendable and more squishable. So for succulent you actually squish the leaf between your fingers and see how flexible it is. For a pothos or a Dieffenbachia  or Monstera you don't really squish- it's more like touching it for firmness and pressing the finger down on it to feel the resistance. So you just remember how firm the freshly hydrated leafs feel (after like 5 hours of watering) vs how they feel when the chopstick comes out more dry. This method is more for the pros, because it requires a lot of knowledge and experience with plants.

5. I also use a hydrometer sometimes for specific plants, but very rarely. The squishable test is the best for me. Also it's very hard- even impossible if you have a extremely chunky mix for Aeroids.

But those are all the best methods. They really can't fail, especially when you combine them. 3 and 4 are my favorite, but the first is the most beginner friendly. With more experience down the line you can explore the other methods. I even combine them. I always touch the leaves first and if I am unsure I lift the pot. If you wanna be extra sure, do 2, 3 and 4 together.

So how to water your plant now? When it needs watering you really drench the soil. I mean really drench it until the water flows! out of the pot, that's how to do it.

For summer temperatures or Succulents/ snake plants I recommend letting the water flow out into the tray and then poor it back in and let it flow out again and then let the rest get wicked up by the plant. After an hour remove the tray water.

There's bottom watering aswell, where the plant wicks the water up.

And there's both: watering from top and bottom.

Just make sure that the soil is fully drenched and water all around the pot, not only one spot. I recommend a watering can with a shower head.

Now soil: pure potting soil is horrible for most tropical houseplants like Airoids and Succulents. Eventually you'll venture into the "chunky soil-mixes". But I recommend each beginner to at least mix perlite into the soil.

So here you go. These methods will help you on your plant journey. And always make sure your pot has a ‼️ drainage hole‼️

UPDATE: I wrote the soil-guide for y'all! Check it out HERE

Edit: Omg thanks for the awards - I really appreciate it!

People this is no joke. It's 40° degrees Celsius here and my Echeveria got burn spots. I have to water the succulents every 4 days at this point. Don't worry - they're fine - except the Echeveria. I am -no joke - blowing a fan at them now and check for thirst daily. The baby croton I have to water daily. The ficus every 2 days. Please don't forget to check them! All the plant subs are full of heat- related questions right now and people don't even realize it's because of the heat.

And for the love of god. Don't buy that plant now, girlie! RESTRAINT AND BONDAGE.

NO new plant for you right now, missy!!!

P.s.

No. I did not buy a new Sanseveria today... in my tiny as grocery store that NEVER sells anything else then basil and those stupid valentines flowers. Nope! I did NOT find a fucking black dragon and a night owl dracaena in that grocery store around the corner. I did not stand there yesterday- in awe - staring at the RARITIES next to the bbq goods and wondered how THAT happened and went back today to get the black dragon for 9 Euro. Nooooope!

Pps. But seriously people, watch out for the heat.

So I just went for groceries... And then they had Sanseverias.. You know the drill. Anyway I wanted one of the "black" ones for the longest time. I already got a black gold Hahnii, a Moonshine, a Cylindrica and the typical Trifasciata.

This one is a bit hard to Id for me tho. I think it's probably a black dragon (???)

I don't think its a trifasciata black coral, because the leaves are wider, but who knows? Anyone?

I know someone out there has this exact one and can tell me 🥹

P.s No, I won't call them Dracena. No. We are a Sanseveria household. Not today, Satan. 🤣

Oh honey. Everything. Everything is wrong.

I am one of the rare people who prefer plain green foliage over variegation. I know... I am are rare uncut gem 🙃.

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Just wondering- how much money did this save me? Since the green ones are cheaper then the variegatas I wonder how good of a deal I got, since I spent 5.99€ on a baby one-leaf cutting. I am sure there's girlies out there that'd totally freak over this surprise! Meanwhile I am just thinking, I'll just have to get used to the variegation I guess. It grew one me though. Still - I probably won't get any other variegata tho since I am not a variegata ho.

Get the fork out b*tch!